Last part of the Calcutta trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray "Jana Aranya" (aka "The Middleman") tells the story of Somnath (Pradip Mukherjee), a college graduate man who after a long battle for trying to find a job who'll turn out employed in a small tricky business as a supplier, he'll be known as a "middleman", where he must find the weakest points of his potential clients, many times being tested to do unethical things in order to succeed; things that go against his wishes and against his moral.
The movie takes off really nice, it presents a very relevant theme of a man trying to find a way for his life, trying to find a job in places where the people who are about to hire his services ask him dumb and pointless things like "How much does the moon weigh?" in order to see if he's able to perform his job well enough. It's absolutely dramatic to see Somnath's search through a crowded city where millions of people like him are also with the same problems. I couldn't stop thinking of how difficult and unfair things are in under developing countries (mine included even though the economic situation is getting better but things can change sooner or later) and how people like the main character must have a enormous sense of faith, persistence and struggle while trying to get a job and while doing it too, because it's not easy to change yourself and your values just because the money's good and it works to pay the bills.
That part of the movie was brilliant; the second act with Somnath in his first job is also great, although a bit confusing since it presents lots of characters and it's hard to keep track of who they are and what they represent: Somnath's bosses, friends, clients, etc. There's a wonderful subplot involving Somnath's father, a man who at first pushed his son into studies and work but later he realizes he'll be alone, and no one will look out for him, which is something that makes him turn back to religion again. Since most cultures are different than the Hindu culture where parents and sons in most families live together for longer times than ours, it's interesting the way the viewer can make a comparison between both worlds and think for a moment about the father's feelings about this whole situation.
The third and conclusive act is very unsatisfying, very confusing, and in a film that goes for two hours (long enough for a simple theme) it gets very tiresome with some annoying talky characters whose lines aren't interesting. Suddenly Somnath gets involved with sending prostitutes to one of his clients fulfilling the wishes of a greedy man who wants to make business with this client, but the whole trade is strange, confuse, played without urging a interest from us. That almost ruined the film. Luckily, it has its good moments, interesting cultural aspects and a relevant story even today, a tale about money and survival versus morality and principles. 7/10
The movie takes off really nice, it presents a very relevant theme of a man trying to find a way for his life, trying to find a job in places where the people who are about to hire his services ask him dumb and pointless things like "How much does the moon weigh?" in order to see if he's able to perform his job well enough. It's absolutely dramatic to see Somnath's search through a crowded city where millions of people like him are also with the same problems. I couldn't stop thinking of how difficult and unfair things are in under developing countries (mine included even though the economic situation is getting better but things can change sooner or later) and how people like the main character must have a enormous sense of faith, persistence and struggle while trying to get a job and while doing it too, because it's not easy to change yourself and your values just because the money's good and it works to pay the bills.
That part of the movie was brilliant; the second act with Somnath in his first job is also great, although a bit confusing since it presents lots of characters and it's hard to keep track of who they are and what they represent: Somnath's bosses, friends, clients, etc. There's a wonderful subplot involving Somnath's father, a man who at first pushed his son into studies and work but later he realizes he'll be alone, and no one will look out for him, which is something that makes him turn back to religion again. Since most cultures are different than the Hindu culture where parents and sons in most families live together for longer times than ours, it's interesting the way the viewer can make a comparison between both worlds and think for a moment about the father's feelings about this whole situation.
The third and conclusive act is very unsatisfying, very confusing, and in a film that goes for two hours (long enough for a simple theme) it gets very tiresome with some annoying talky characters whose lines aren't interesting. Suddenly Somnath gets involved with sending prostitutes to one of his clients fulfilling the wishes of a greedy man who wants to make business with this client, but the whole trade is strange, confuse, played without urging a interest from us. That almost ruined the film. Luckily, it has its good moments, interesting cultural aspects and a relevant story even today, a tale about money and survival versus morality and principles. 7/10